Hockey Manitoba is pleased to release the U-16 Team Manitoba exhibition roster competing Dec 12-14 at the 2014 Shattuck-St. Mary’s Jamboree in Fairbault, MN. The roster includes twenty-eight (28) names total of which twenty-seven (27) will participate with U-16 Team Manitoba at the tournament meanwhile one (1) player, Austin Nault (Winnipeg), will participate in the tournament with his club team (U-16 Omaha AAA). The Shattuck-St.Mary’s Jamboree will serve as the final evaluation of these players in preparation of announcing the official U-16 Team Manitoba roster for the 2015 Canada Games in Prince George, BC.

The exhibition roster includes three (3) goaltenders, nine (9) defensemen, and sixteen (16) forwards. U-16 Team Manitoba will play a total of five games over the weekend tournament allowing for a consistent mix in the lineup each game given the amount of players travelling to the event. The exhibition roster includes twenty-three (23) players drafted in the 2014 WHL Bantam Draft including first round picks Stelio Mattheos (1st, Brandon Wheat Kings), Josh Brook (4th, Moose Jaw Warriors), and Cody Glass (19th, Portland Winterhawks). Coinciding with the WHL prospects, the roster also includes eighteen (18) MJHL Draft selections or auto-protected players from 2014.

The official U-16 Team Manitoba roster consisting of twenty (20) players will be announced with a media conference on Thursday, December 18th. U-16 Team Manitoba will compete at the 2015 Canada Games (Male Hockey Competition) held February 22-28, 2015 in Prince George, BC. The male hockey competition at the Canada Games boosts some extraordinary alumni including Sidney Crosby (2003), Steven Stamkos (2007), Nathan MacKinnon (2011), along with Winnipeg Jets prospects Eric Comrie (2011), Josh Morrissey (2011), Nic Petan (2011), and local Washington Capitals prospect Madison Bowey (2011). The 2011 Canada Games in Halifax, NS featured thirty-two (32) eventual NHL draft picks competing in the male hockey competition, many of whom will fill the Team Canada roster at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship.

For more information about the Hockey Manitoba Program of Excellence and Team Manitoba please visit www.hockeymanitoba.ca/players/poe. Hockey Manitoba is pleased to recognize Canad Inns, Reebok-CCM Hockey, and the Western Hockey League as Official Partners of the Program of Excellence, along with Gatorade as the Official Sport Drink of Hockey Manitoba.